“What makes Run Your BQ different?” – and 7 other common questions

Run Your BQ, a members-only program designed to help you crush the marathon and qualify for Boston, closes tonight at 11:59pm Pacific.

You may have questions about what exactly this program is – and what it isn’t. I’ve answered a lot of questions over the last two days and seen a ton of interest from the thousands of runners who signed up to learn more.

Since RYBQ closes very soon, I wanted to do a Q&A session to answer any questions you have.

What makes Run Your BQ different?

You might think that RYBQ is like a stock training plan you get in a book or a website. They’ll usually give you a schedule to follow that includes mileage and workouts. While building Run Your BQ, we purchased a premium Boston Training Plan from a well-known coach to research what else was out there. It gave you the basics: weekly mileage, workouts, and a short description of each.

Run Your BQ is entirely different: our training plans are more detailed and give you the exact warm-up and strength exercises that you need to be doing to prevent injuries. Plus, there are video demonstrations of all the exercises and background articles on successful marathon training (we have 20+ videos and 35+ articles).

But far more than the background info and videos, Run Your BQ is a community. You’ll be granted unlimited access to our forum where you can talk with all of the members, and of course Matt and Jason. And every month there’s a live video chat where we’ll talk about a new, important aspect of marathon training and take your questions — so you know exactly how to customize your training or run a workout.

What makes Boston different from other marathons?

The first Boston Marathon was in 1897, making it one of the oldest marathons in the country. With over 100 years of history and a strict qualifying system, qualifying for Boston is considered by many to be the ultimate marathon achievement. The allure of getting that coveted BQ time makes it a desirable goal for most marathoners.

Matt was able to improve from 4:53 to 3:09 – a 1:43+ improvement! – just because he wanted that impressive BQ and to run the historic course from Hopkinton to Boylston Street. A qualifying time gives you a tangible, competitive goal to shoot for – and RYBQ is here to help you achieve it.

I’m not sure what qualifying time I need – do you cover that sort of thing even though it’s not about training?

Yes! Run Your BQ is more than just the training you need to do to qualify for Boston. We have an entire section on Qualifying Standards so you know exactly what time you need – plus advice on the best course to run, weather considerations, and how to determine your goal time. A big part of qualifying is the mental aspect of deciding on your goal, committing to it, and then staying motivated. We cover all of that, and more, for our members.

If any of this is confusing, you can ask another runner in our member-only forum or Matt and Jason will answer your specific question during a live video chat.

Do I have to run fast workouts?

The RYBQ Training Plan Library has a lot of training plans to choose from. Each one is based on a certain fitness level so you know you’re not doing too much, too soon, too fast. The advanced plans will have more faster running than the beginner plans – but each plan does include some faster running.

Most of our workouts are aerobic (with oxygen) – meaning you won’t be struggling through a lot of intervals on the track at 5k pace. You’ll be doing a variety of faster workouts suited to your fitness level – usually 1-2 per week, that will include tempo runs, hills, marathon pace running, and other workouts.

Is there a minimum amount of miles I need to be able to run to do your programs?

There are a lot of training plans to choose from in Run Your BQ, so you can start running wherever you’re comfortable. Those of you who opt for the lifetime membership don’t have to rush into a plan – you have access to the website forever.

Our goal is to have you qualify for Boston so there’s a baseline level of fitness that you’ll probably need to start one of our plans. We recommend that you’re comfortable running at least 20 miles per week before you start.

If you’re running less and need an “introductory” program, we have Out-Season plans that can work for this purpose. These are designed to help marathoners recover after their race, but they can also be used to gradually build your mileage to a suitable level. We have several options available for different fitness levels.

I can only run “xx” times per week. Are your plans customizable for that?

Yes our plans are fully customizable. You’ll be able to download them in a pretty PDF that’s easy to print or an Excel file that you can edit as much as you want. Plus, we have an entire section describing the training plans, with complete lessons on adapting the program to your schedule, how to choose the right plan, how to train after your marathon, and descriptions of each type of workout. Since you’ll be training to run a BQ marathon, we recommend that you be able to run at least four days per week.

Can I download the training plans? Do I have to join for a certain number of months?

All of our marathon and post-marathon recovery plans are downloadable in two formats: a PDF or an Excel file. We provide both because the PDF is easy to print (and it looks really nice), while the Excel file is easy to modify in case you want to further personalize your training. The Excel file also serves as a running log – you can change your workouts to reflect what you’ve already done.

Regarding membership, there’s no minimum membership — enrollment is month-to-month, so you can join for a single month if you just want to try it out. But we hope you’ll stick around until you qualify for Boston! With unlimited forum access and regular live video chats with Matt and myself, you’ll get constant support every month to help you through your marathon training.

There is also a lifetime membership option. Just in case you have to take time off from running for personal reasons, we’ll be right here when you get back. Once you join RYBQ as a lifetime member, you get unlimited access forever, so if qualifying for Boston is a long-term thing for you, this is the best option. It’s also the best deal!

What’s one more cool thing about Run Your BQ?

Besides an entire website dedicated to getting you to BQ and a forum with a bunch of other marathoners?! One more thing: we’re offering RYBQ at a low cost right now – it’ll never be this low again. Get in now at this price and you’re locked in for life.

The neat thing is that you’ll be able to shape the content and lessons of what’s inside RYBQ. If we hear from our members that you need specific advice on how to use a foam roller – we’re going to add a lesson on that and film a video. We’ll constantly be adding new stuff – so you’re going to get more and more as time goes on.

Yes, we actually have runners who have already joined at a slower pace than you! Our beginner plans start in the low 20’s in terms of mileage, and with the lifetime option you can continue growing with RYBQ and be ready for an advanced plan at your own pace (no pun intended!).